According to court records, Brown claimed that Taylor was an "informant" who told social workers he abused his children. The county confirmed the abuse and in March gave Taylor custody of five children — ages 2 to 17 — who had been living with Brown and Tia Taylor.

He was furious about having the children taken away, according to a lawsuit he filed in July against Long Beach police, the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services and several social workers.

He placed much of the blame on Taylor.

In court papers, he referred to her repeatedly as an "informant," even writing the word in the margins of documents he filed with the court. He claimed she told social workers that he was an unfit parent and advised her daughter that she would be "better off without Steven Brown." His suit sought financial compensation from the government agencies and the return of the children.